The UConn women’s hockey team is feeling electric after skating circles around Providence in a 6-1 victory on Friday. With 10 goals in their back pocket in just two games, the Huskies are beginning their steady climb up the conference ladder just a little over a month into the season.
Coming off of a massive comeback against New Hampshire in last weekend’s series, the Huskies were ready to find the back of the net once again, and they made sure not to disappoint. From the puck drop, the Huskies rushed the ice and immediately outpaced the Friars. Just three minutes into the game, graduate student Coryn Tormala found the back of the net with an assist by Kyla Josifovic and Brooke Campbell. Tormala has been the player to watch as she earned a seat at the table of team leaders. Last season, Tormala led the team with 11 assists and recorded 10 goals. Just seven games into this season, she already leads the team with six goals and appears to be on track to set a new personal record.
Back on the ice, the Huskies were energized by an early goal and maintained puck possession. Just four minutes later, Campbell nailed the puck into the net on a power play to advance the Huskies to 2-0 just under 10 minutes into the match. Josifovic was there once again to assist the shot alongside Ainsley Svetek.
Although the Huskies were already up two and the contest was just beginning, the crew did not let up their offensive movement. Just after a UConn power play, Josifovic had her turn at finding the back of the net and nailed another point for the Huskies. By the end of the first, the Huskies were already sweeping the Friars in a shutout.
The second period upheld the same momentum for the Huskies while the Friars were unable to respond. Just six minutes in, Alexa Pongo secured her first goal of the season off an assist from Christina Walker. Then, 45 seconds later, Tormala sent her second shot of the game flying in an unassisted goal to bring the Huskies 5-0.
With a substantial lead, the end result was looking unfavorable for the Huskies. UConn dominated the majority of the second period as they were enjoying an upper hand while still maintaining composure and intensity.
As the second was coming to a close, Grace Shirley of Providence was able to fire off the only successful shot of the evening for the Friars to bring their score up to one. Although the Friars now had their name on the board, they did not pose a threat to the Huskies’ lead.
Skating into the third, the Huskies were 20 minutes away from victory. For the better half of the period, the group was able to call the shots as they left the Friars defenseless. In the final two minutes of gameplay, junior Riley Grimley fired off one last shot of the evening to round out the Huskies in a 6-1 win.
While the Friars were left unsuccessful, the Huskies were triumphant in their second consecutive win at Toscano. Throughout the matchup, Providence struggled to make effective progress on power plays, whereas UConn was able to capitalize. Building off of this momentum, the Huskies also won over double the faceoffs as the Friars and made a point to be first to the puck. Consequently, Providence is no stranger to Storrs, so the Huskies knew where to make capitalizing plays on the ice.
Last season, the duo faced off three times and the Huskies walked away victorious from two contests and one tied match. Comparatively, the Huskies are on a similar track this season, as they already have one win under their belt.
Looking ahead, the Huskies will be both traveling to and welcoming a familiar Boston opponent, Northeastern. Historically, UConn has struggled against the group as they haven’t seen a win since 2018. The Huskies will be looking to change that narrative this season while they make progress in Hockey East gameplay.
